Twitter slow-walking document production, allege Elon Musk's attorneys
PremiumA Twitter representative refused to comment on the matter.
Ahead of an October trial to determine whether Elon Musk should be forced to execute a $44 billion takeover of the social media giant, the Tesla CEO's lawyers have taken issue with Twitter's slow-walking document production. Additionally, they claimed in a court document filed on July 26 that Twitter Inc. lawyers had objected to a trial date of October 17 and were pushing on an October 10 trial start, utilising the ambiguity of the trial date to postpone additional scheduling conversations. A Twitter representative said that the company had nothing to say about the court petition.
“Given the compressed timeframe, guidance from the court is necessary to break the impasse to allow things to move forward promptly," attorney Edward Micheletti wrote in asking Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick to grant Musk's proposed case schedule.
Micheletti informed the judge that Twitter had refused to start supplying "plainly relevant" and "easily collected and produced" documents even though a trial was scheduled for October. Instead, he added, Twitter's lawyers have asserted—without specifying which types of documents—that they are not relevant.
Twitter board minutes and related papers, advertising sales and stats, as well as manuals and regulations surrounding "Monetizable Daily Active Usage or Users" or mDAU, are among the records Musk's lawyers are requesting. Twitter utilises that metric to estimate the volume of users and organisations on its platform.
Attorneys for Musk claimed that Twitter's proposed case schedule is “an obvious attempt to squeeze defendants" after a Delaware Chancery Court judge agreed last week to hold an expedited trial in a lawsuit filed by Twitter.
“Defendants' efforts to make sure this case is trial-ready by October, have not been reciprocated by Twitter, who at every turn has sought to delay," he added.
With an offer of $54.20 per share and a commitment to easing content monitoring and removing fake accounts, Musk agreed in April to buy Twitter and take it private. Musk and Twitter had agreed to split a $1 billion breakup fee in the event that either party was to blame for the deal failing.
The richest man in the world said earlier in July that he had wanted to pull out of the agreement, which prompted Twitter to initiate a lawsuit to enforce what it called a "seller-friendly" agreement. On July 26 afternoon, Twitter stock was trading at $39.24, significantly below its 52-week high of $71.92.
(With agency inputs)
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